CLASSIC CHENNAI

Economy of Chennai:

Chennai has a diversified economic base anchored by the automobile, software services, medical tourism, hardware manufacturing and financial services. Other important industries include petrochemicals, textiles and apparels. The Chennai Port and Ennore Port contribute greatly to its importance. The city has a fully computerised stock exchange called the Madras Stock Exchange. Chennai has the fourth largest Gross Metropolitan Product in India.


*Chennai’s economy is expected to increase to around $150 billion from the current $45 billion by 2025. Infrastructure would lead the growth, according to a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) stud*

*Chennai was recently rated as having the highest quality of life among Indian cities ahead of the other three metros and Bangalore, based on the "Location Ranking Survey" conducted by ECA International.*

*Chennai has improved its global ranking to 138 in 2006-07 from 179 in 2002-03. It is now ranked at 26th position in Asia in terms of livability, up from 31st rank in 2002-03.*

Software and Software Services:


Since the late 1990s, software development and business process outsourcing and more recently electronics manufacturing have emerged as major drivers of the city's economic growth. Chennai has been rated as the most attractive Indian city for offshoring services according to A T Kearney's Indian City Services Attractiveness Index 2005. Major software and software services companies like Accenture, Cognizant Technology Solutions, CSC, EDS, HCL, HP, IBM, Infosys, Satyam, Sun Microsystems, Symantec, TCS, Verizon, Wipro, and US Technology Resources have development centres in the city.
The city is now the second largest exporter of IT and IT enabled Services in the country behind Bangalore. The IT Corridor, on Old Mahabalipuram Road in the southeast of the city houses several technology parks, and, when completed, will provide employment to close to 300,000 people. Besides the existing Tidel Park, two more Tidel Parks are on the anvil in the IT corridor.


Tidel Park, one of the largest software parks in India.


Automobiles


Chennai has a market share of around 30% of India's automobile industry and 35% of its auto components industry. A large number of the automotive companies including several global automotive companies such as Hyundai, Ford, BMW, Mitsubishi, TVS, Ashok Leyland, Caterpillar, Royal Enfield, TI Cycles, TAFE, Dunlop, MRF have manufacturing plants in and around Chennai. Nissan-Renault and Apollo Tyres have plants under construction. The city is a major centre for the auto ancillary industry. Hyundai is in the process of setting up engine plant in the city. Ford is planning to invest $500 million dollars in Chennai plant.Several Petrochemical companies like Chennai Petro Chemicals Limited (Manali Refinery), Manali Petrochemicals, Petro Araldite and Orchid Pharmaceuticals are situated in the outskirts of Chennai.



Banking and Finance

Chennai is an important centre for banking and finance. At present it is home to three large national level commercial banks and many state level co-operative banks. Several large financial companies and insurance companies are headquartered in Chennai. Many Indian banks, multi-national banks and the World Bank have located their back office operations in the city. The city serves as a major back up centre for operations of many banks and financial companies in India.


Aerospace Industry


Chennai Aero Park has been proposed and is intended to become the largest integrated aerospace ecosystem in the world. The project is a pioneering initiative to mark India's entry into the global aerospace industry. The aero park will enable global players to design, manufacture and maintain all types of aircraft for both civilian and defense needs. It is to be established as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) entity.

Already the city is home to more than 20 companies in the aerospace field. The establishment of this park will make chennai, the Aero City of India



Aero Park Facilities

* Design/Development & Engineering Services complex
* Helipad and 3KM Landing Strip
* Manufacturing complex
* Software & IT complex
* International complex
* Corporate offices
* Pilots Aid complex
* MRO complex
* Central Approved Testing Facilitiy
* Warehouse complex
* Training/Simulators complex
* Aviation and Aerospace University
* AME/ARME Ground Crew School
* Aircrew Training School
* Residential and Other Supporting Facilities


chennai future:
Chennai set to become a world-class city-NDTV News:

Tamil cinema (also referred to as the Tamil film industry, or Chennai film industry) is the Chennai–based Tamil language filmmaking industry of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is based in the Kodambakkam district of Chennai, where several Tamil language feature films are produced, which has led to a colloquial reference to it as Kollywood , a portmanteau of the words Kodambakkam and Hollywood.

Early exhibitors:

In Madras (now known as Chennai), the Electric Theatre was established for the screening of silent films. It was a favourite haunt of the British community in Madras.The theatre was shut down after a few years. This building is now part of a post office complex in Anna Salai. The Lyric Theatre was also built in the Mount Road area (now Anna Salai). This venue boasted a variety of events, including plays in English, Western classical music concerts, and ballroom dances. Silent films were also screened as an additional attraction. Samikannu Vincent, an employee of the South Indian Railways in Trichy, purchased a film projector and silent films from the Frenchman Du Pont and set up a business as film exhibitor. He erected tents for screening films.


Film studios

1916 marked the birth of Tamil cinema with the the first Madras production and South Indian film release Keechaka Vaadham (The Destruction of Keechaka). During the 1920s, silent Tamil-language movies were shot at makeshift locations in and around Chennai, and for technical processing, they were sent to Pune or Calcutta. Later some movies featuring MKT were shot in Pune and Calcutta. In the 1930s AVM set up its makeshift studio in the town of Karaikudi, and during the same decade, full-fledged Movie studios were built in Salem (Modern Theatres Studio) and Coimbatore (Central Studios, Neptune, and Pakshiraja).




By the mid 1940s, Chennai became the hub of Studio activity with two more movie Studios built in Chennai, Vijaya Vauhini Studios and Gemini Studios. Later, AVM Studios shifted its operations to Chennai. Thus, with the undivided Madras Presidency being the Capital to most of South India, Chennai became the center for Tamil- and notable Telugu-language movies. Also, most of the pre-independence era drama and stage actors joined the movie industry from the 1940s, and Chennai became the hub for South Indian–language film production and Sri Lankan cinema before independence.

Superstars:

At the beginning of the talkie era, Kollywood was dominated by P. U. Chinnappa and later M. K. Thyagaraja Bagavadhar during the 1940s. During the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, the two highly anticipated Tamil film stars were M. G. Ramachandran and later Sivaji Ganesan.


The 1980s, 1990s and 2000s saw the rise and consolidation of the markets of Kamal Hassan and later Rajinikanth. The films of both of these stars typically mop up regularly 20 per cent market share each of the total annual box office receipts. They received salaries of $2 million and $3 million respectively for their latest projects, Dasavatharam and Sivaji.

Some of the biggest names in the Indian film fraternity like Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam and S. Shankar are based of Chennai.A. R. Rahman took Chennai to international fame by winning two Oscar awards in 2009 for the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Chennai's theaters stage many Tamil plays; political satire, slapstick comedy, history, mythology and drama are among the popular genres.

Chennai has a well developed transport infrastructure.

Roads.
For the proposed elevated expressways, see Chennai Elevated Expressways

Chennai's economic development has been closely tied to its port and transport infrastructure.

The city and metropolitan area are served by major arterial roads that run either in an east-west or north-south direction . Anna Salai — or Mount Road as it is more popularly called — is the city's most famous road.

It traverses most of central and south Chennai and leads on to the Grand Southern Trunk Road (National Highway 45) to Thiruchirapalli.
The road runs in a north-east to south-west direction. Other arterials include Kamaraj Salai (north-south), Poonamalee High Road (east-west), Radhakrishnan Salai (east-west), and Sardar Patel Road (east-west).


Chennai is also served by the Inner Ring Road that circled the metropolitan area when it was built. The proposed Outer Ring Road will further improve the traffic flow around the city. In addition, the recently constructed Chennai byepass road, that connects NH 45 to NH-4, and in future, NH-5 has allowed freight traffic to byepass part of the city, and provides a convenient alternative to the Inner Ring Road. Most of the arterial roads lead to the National Highways and State Highways.



Five major National Highways radiate outward from Chennai:

* Erukancheri High Road to the northwest, becoming National Highway 5 to Kolkata;
* Poonamallee High Road (Periyar Salai) to the west, becoming National Highway 4 to Mumbai(via Bangalore and Pune);
* Mount Road (Anna Salai) to the south-west, becoming National Highway 45 to Tiruchirapalli and the interior of Tamil Nadu;
* Madras-Tiruvallur High Road (MTH Road), built parallel to NH 4 to the west, leading to Tiruvallur;
* Beach Road to the south along the coast, becoming East Coast Road to Mahabalipuram, Pondicherry and beyond.

Public Transport:

The Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) foundation stone laid by Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi in 1999 and was opened in 2001 in Koyambedu in western Chennai by the then Chief Minister Ms. J. Jayalalitha. The CMBT is the largest bus station in Asia, and serves as the terminus for all intercity buses from Chennai. The CMBT is located on the Inner Ring Road, replacing the older terminus on the Esplanade in the city centre. State transport and private bus services to all major cities and towns in Tamil Nadu and neighbouring states start from here.





Most of Chennai's intra-city transport requirements are met by an extensive public transport system. The bus service, which is run by the government-owned Metropolitan Transport Corporation covers the city and its suburbs. Bus services are generally considered efficient, but buses on some routes can get very crowded at times. The bus service, which plies about 3084 buses on 626 routes, moves an estimated 4.03 million passengers each day.

*chennai is the only city to have govt buses.no private buses can be seen*

AC BUSES:

mtc also introduced ac buses in the city with many facilities.



The buses have many passenger friendly features including

- Tilting the bus on left or right side and increasing the height of the bus according to the requirements. (volvos need this to run on our roads :( )

- The suspension would also ensure jerk-free travel for commuters

- Physically-challenged and elders can board the buses with their wheel chairs.

- provision for wheel chairs to be fastened with the seats.

- LED scrolling boards will also be in place in the front, rear and sides of the vehicle for route information.

- Automatic doors in the front and rear with sensors, provision for laptop connection and mobile phone charger, channel music system and public announcement (PA) system to give information to passengers will be the other attractions

In addition to the bus service, private metered call taxis and fixed-rate tourist taxis are available at all entry points to the city like airport, mofussil bus terminus and central railway station.

Metered/unmetered autos ply across the city and are extensively used. In the case of autos though, drivers often demand flat rates especially for short distances(say 1-2 km) and certainly need some bargaining.

RAILWAY NETWORK:
in addition to the road,chennai has a complex rail network.
Suburban System

The Chennai suburban railway system can be broken down into five sections:

* Chennai Central — Tiruvallur — Arakkonam — Tiruttani
* Chennai Central — Ennore — Gummidipoondi — Sullurpet
* Chennai Beach — Tambaram — Chengalpattu — Kanchipuram — Tirumalpur
* Chennai Beach — Royapuram — Washermanpet — Korukkupet — Ennore — Gummidipoondi
* Chennai Beach — Royapuram — Washermanpet — Perambur — Arakkonam


The system uses broad gauge. The section from Washermanpet to Beach handles predominantly freight traffic from Chennai Port, and is not geared well to serve passengers.

MRTS System

* Chennai Beach — Velachery
* Velachery — St. Thomas Mount (under construction)
* Thiruvanmiyur — Mamallapuram (proposed)

The MRTS system is planned to meet with the Tambaram branch of the existing suburban network at St. Thomas Mount. The plan envisages the MRTS line to proceed north from St. Thomas Mount, forming a ring around the city and ending at the northbound Central-Gummidipoondi line.

Smart Card:

The Smart Card looks similar to a debit card, issued by the suburban railway at ticket counters for Rs.100 currently. This Rs.100 includes Rs.50 refundable deposit, and Rs.50 travel value. The travel value can be used to purchase platform and travel tickets for the Chennai suburban trains. The smart card is valid for 6 months from the date of purchase and the extra amounts of travel value can be recharged whenever needed. It is found that very few people are using this smart card.

Smart Card is very beneficial in terms of avoiding standing in long queues saving precious time, and also keeping track of the money spending on the trains travel. The touch screen ticket vending kiosks are provided in many stations, for using the smart card services. The kiosk has a multilanguage interface, featuring Tamil, English and Hindi. The user has to place the smart card, select destination zone, destination station, number of adults, number of children, one way or return ticket and via stations. The ticket is printed for the user.

Main Railway Terminal Stations:

There are two main railway terminals, the Chennai Central station, which is the city's largest railway station with trains to major cities and towns in India, and Chennai Egmore, with trains to cities and towns within Tamil Nadu.

chennai central:

Chennai Central, formerly known as Madras Central is the main railway terminus in Chennai. It is home to the Southern Railways and the most important rail hub in South India. Trains from here connect the city to other states of India, while trains to other parts of Tamil Nadu (excluding Tiruchirapalli, Madurai and Tirunelveli) are catered to by the Chennai Egmore station. Chennai Central is the main hub for the Chennai suburban railway. The building of the railway station, one of the landmarks of Chennai, was designed by the architect Henry Irwin.



Chennai Central serves as a symbolic landmark for people in South India as this served as the main gateway for all people who travelled to South India during British times. Chennai Central has been greatly instrumental in earning Chennai the famous sobriquet "Gateway of the South"


chennai egmore:

Chennai Egmore is a railway station in Egmore, Chennai, South India. The station acts as the arrival and departure point for trains connecting Chennai and southern, central Tamil Nadu and Kerala.This is one of the two main railway terminals in the city along with Chennai Central, which serves the north and west bound trains from the city.



water transport:

chennai port:
Chennai Port is the second largest port of India, behind the Mumbai Port. It is over 125 years old. This was a major travel port before becoming a major container port. It is a substantial reason for the economic growth of Tamil Nadu, especially for the manufacturing boom in South India. Its container traffic crossed 1 million TEUs for the first time in 2008. Though much smaller than ports such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen, it is expanding in the coming years.



AIRWAYS:

Chennai International Airport

Chennai International Airportis located in Meenambakkam, 7 km (4.3 mi) south of Chennai, India. It is the third largest international gateway into the country and the third busiest airport in India after Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, and the main air hub for South India, handling around 12 million passengers in 2007 and serving more than 50 different airlines. It is also a hub for Jet Airways, Kingfisher Red, Air India and Paramount Airways. It is also an important cargo terminus for the country, after
Mumbai.



Facts and Figures:

Currently, Chennai airport handles about 25 aircraft movements every hour, which will be saturated by the year 2014-15. However, peak hour traffic handling capability will be exhausted much earlier than that. Anna International Terminal handled 3,410,253 passengers in 2007-08 and has the capacity of handling 3M passengers annually, Already it has surpassed the passenger handling capacity. Similarly, Kamaraj Domestic Terminal, which handled 7,249,501 passengers in 2007-08, has the capacity to handle 6 million passengers annually. Here again the terminal demand far exceeds the capacity. In all Chennai airport handled a capacity of 10,659,754 passengers in 2007 - 08. The airport handled cargo of a total of 270,608 tonnes in 2007 - 08.

Chennai architecture and monuments:

Chennai architecture is a confluence of many architectural styles. From ancient Dravidian temples built by the Pallavas, to the Indo-Saracenic style (pioneered in Madras) of the colonial era, to 20th century steel and chrome of skyscrapers. Chennai has a colonial core in the port area, surrounded by progressively newer areas as one travels away from the port, punctuated with old temples, churches and mosques.

Styles of architecture:

The Government Museum, Egmore, in the Indo-Saracenic style.

Indo-Saracenic and colonial style

In the city, one can notice the British influence in the form of old Cathedrals and the mix of Hindu, Islamic and Gothic revival styles that resulted in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture. Many of the colonial era buildings are designed in this Indo-Saracenic style. The colonial legacy of Chennai is most apparent in the vicinity of the Chennai port. South of the port is Fort St George. The stretch between the Fort and the port is occupied mostly by the High Court buildings and several clubs, some of which have existed since the British era. A little south of the Fort, across the Cooum River, is the Chepauk cricket stadium, another British staple, dating from 1916. North and west of the port is George Town, where dockyard workers and other manual labourers used to live. George Town is now a bustling commercial centre, but its architecture is significantly different from areas closer to the Fort, with narrower roads and tightly packed buildings. Most of the colonial style buildings are concentrated in the area around the Chennai port and Fort St George. The remaining parts of the city consist of primarily modern architecture in concrete, glass and steel.



Tamil style

Some residential areas like Tiruvallikeni (Triplicane) and Mylapore have several houses dating from the early 20th century, especially those far removed from arterial roads. Many of them were built in the traditional Tamil style, with four wings surrounding a square courtyard, and tiled sloping roofs. In sharp contrast, the apartment buildings along the larger roads in the same areas were built in 1990 or later

Ripon building:

Ripon Building is the seat of the Chennai Corporation in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. This is a fine example of Indo-Saracenic style of architecture, a combination of three types of architectural styles - Gothic, Ionic and Corinthian.

The Ripon Building is white in colour and is located near the Central station in Chennai. Commissioned in 1913, it was built by a builder named Loganatha Mudaliar. the Building took four years to build at a cost of 750,000 Rupees. Ripon building was named after Lord Ripon, Governor-General of British India and the Father of local self-government. Earl of Minto, the then Viceroy and Governor General of India laid the foundation on December 12, 1909.

Madras high court:
The Madras High Court, one of the landmarks of the metropolis of Chennai, India, and believed to be the second largest judicial complex in the world[citation needed], is located near the beach, one of the important central business districts of Chennai.


Valluvar Kottam

The Valluvar Kottam, constructed in 1976, is an auditorium in memory of the poet-saint Thiruvalluvar. All 1330 verses of the poet's epic - the Thirukkural, are inscribed on the granite pillars that surround the auditorium. There is a 101-feet high temple chariot structure with a life-size image of the poet in it. The base of the chariot shows in bas-relief the 133 chapters of the Thirukkural.



Other interesting buildings:

The Government Museum (designed by Henry Irwin and completed in 1896), the Senate House of the Madras University and the College of Engineering, Guindy are some more examples of the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture.

Other buildings of architectural significance are the Presidency College, built in 1840, the Ripon Building (now housing the Chennai Corporation) dating from 1913, The War Memorial, Vivekanandar Illam, The Museum Theatre and the Ramakrishna Math temple. Adjoining the Governor's residence (Raj Bhavan) at Guindy, there are five mandapams (or memorials) dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, the first Indian Governor General C Rajagopalachari, former Chief Ministers of the state Kamaraj and Bhaktavatsalam and one to Martyrs in general.

Among the Churches are the 'Cathedral', 'St. Andrew's Church' (referred to as "the Kirk"), St. Thomas Mount Church.

religious monuments:

St. Thomas Mount Church:
According to legend, St. Thomas was one of the first Christians to reach India and to preach Christianity. He is believed to have reached South India in AD 52, and spent the last years of his life in a cave on this hill. Tradition states that Thomas was assassinated by a shot of an arrow in AD 72, by persons hostile to him. Thus, the hillock acquired the name St. Thomas Mount



A small relic-filled Church built in 1523 by the Portuguese stands at the summit of the 300 foot high St. Thomas Mount. The place was visited by Pope John Paul II during his visit to India on 5 February 1986. The Indian Army operates an Officers training Academy (OTA) on the mount. The South line of the Chennai suburban railway has a station named after St. Thomas Mount here.

chennai classic homes:


War Memorials:

A visit to the War Memorials of Chennai is the best way to discover the heroic past of India. The memorials are dedicated to those soldiers who laid their lives for the welfare of the nation as well as those who died as martyrs, serving their nation. These war memorials have been built to pay homage to those great souls. Some of these War Memorials are located within the boundaries of the city, while some are located at the outskirts. Two most famous and visited memorials in and around Madras are given below

Victory War Memorial:
The Victory War Memorial is located to the south of Fort St. George. This memorial is also known as 'Cupid's Bow'. A circular rock and marble structure have been built here, in the memory of those who sacrificed and lost their lives for the country's honor, during World War I. It is situated on Beach Road of Chennai, near Island Grounds.

Rajiv Gandhi Memorial:
Rajiv Gandhi Memorial is another must visit spot on your tour to Madras. It is located at a distance of about 40 km from the main city. The memorial is precisely situated at Sriperumbudur and is dedicated to the former Prime Minster of India, Raiiv Gandhi. He was assassinated in the year 1991 by a human bomb.

central prison:

The historic Madras Central Prison that was constructed in the year 1837 and was operational until a few years ago will soon be reduced to rubbles.The sprawling nine-acre campus situated in the heart of the city, which is also one of the last few heritage sites, has housed several prominent personalities like former chief ministers C. K. Annadurai, Jayalalithaa, M. Karunanidhi.

The prison, which was originally used as a transit point to house criminals and freedom fighters before they were eventually transferred to the central prison in Andaman, has even housed pre-Independence era personalities like Hindu nationalist leader Veer Savarakar, who spent a few days here before he was sent to Andaman.

According to prison officials, the prison is expected to become a part of the government general hospital.

Chennai celebrates a number of festivals. Pongal, celebrated in the month of January, is the most important festival of and is celebrated over a period of five days. Tamil New Year's day signifying the beginning of the Tamil calendar usually falls on April 14 and is celebrated widely. Being a cosmopolitan city, almost all major religious festivals like Divali, Eid and Christmas are celebrated here.

PONGAL:

Pongal is one of the major festivals celebrated in the Chennai city of India. It is basically a rural-based festival, but is also celebrated in the cities with great enthusiasm. Pongal marks the end of the south east monsoon and the harvest season in South India. It is celebrated in the Tamil month of Thai, which is considered quite sacred. The festival involves the worship of Sun God, Mother Earth and the Cattle for bearing a good harvest. In Tamil Nadu, it is celebrated continuously for four days.



Moreover, there are many legends associated with the Pongal festival. According to the folklore, the first day of Pongal is celebrated to pay homage to Lord Krishna, as he lifted the Govardhan Parvat (mountain) to save his people from the incessant rain. In relation with the third day of the Pongal, it is said that Lord Shiva sent his divine vehicle Nandi - the bull, on the earth, to give the message to the people that they must have an oil bath everyday, while they must eat only once in a month.


DIWALI:

This festival of lights is usually celebrated in Oct, Nov. It generates an atmosphere of gaiety, friendliness and excitement. Diwali is celebrated with new clothes, spectacular firecrackers and a variety of sweets in the company of family and friends. Dhanatrayodashi; Narakchaturdashi, Amavasya (Laxmi poojan), Balipratipada and Yamadvitiya (Bhaubeej) are the five days which comprise Diwali, and each day has a peculiar religious significance.



some other festivals are:

Vinayaka Chathurthi
Navarathiri
Karthigai Deepam

Chennai Sangamam:

The only Festival of India that belongs to people of all religions, as well as to the non-believers. The harvest fest of Tamil antiquity - The Pongal re-discovering itself as urban thanksgiving. It's Chennai Sangamam. More than 2000 performers will ignite the spirit of Chennai for seven days with around 4000 performances. All in parks, streets and beaches. From January 10-16, 2009. Welcome to the longest and biggest Open Festival of India, presented by Tamil Maiyam & Dept. of Tourism and Culture, Govt of Tamil Nadu.

The most important point is that the event is open for all and happening in the public places.so each and every citizen of chennai can able to enjoy this.

History

The idea of organizing a festival during Pongal showcasing the culture of Tamil Nadu was conceived by Kanimozhi, Member of Parliament from Tamil Nadu and daughter of M Karunanidhi and Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj, founder of Tamil Maiyam, in September 2006[3]. The festival was rolled out in 2007, with patronization of the Government of Tamil Nadu

places where events takes place:

Nageswara Rao Park, Mylapore
Anna Park, Royapuram
ELLIOTS Beach, Besant Nagar
Tower Park- ANNA NAGAR
Lady Wellington School
ECR Road – Palavakkam

"chennai sangamam 2009";

The Chennai Sangamam 2009, which inaugurated on 10the January exists at many places around Chennai, stimulates the festival mood. In welcoming Pongal – the harvesting festival that falls on January 14th, this celebration gives a feel of nearly in traditional way. What this arts turn to be only temple festivals special in villages, which seen rarely in today’s world, this truly aware the need and significance of our unique arts. The idea comes out in supporting and raising the declining artists, and helps in discovering certain norms in public. Year by year I could think its popularity and we all began to look forward this festival around. In my view it has a bright future not alone being celebrated, and to make our existing arts to keep in active and some more in spreading to other districts, could certainly witness a growth.



Karagattam was familiarly known by most, as they take places first and more in festivals and cultural programs. Karagam is mean to decorated vessel. So as one have to perform dance movements, placing them on head without let to fall the vessel. It’s uneasy to see how stable the vessel on head, to only active the body more or less towards music. Have seen this kind of dance in movies alone, and the one ever get out of mind is famous Tamil movie Karagattakaran (karagam dancer). The current song is Mankuyile poongkuyile... from Karagattakaran, do check for the karagattam.



Poikkal Kudirai Attam (Dummy horse dance) is a skill trained performance. It’s wonderful to see someone standing and balancing on two pieces of wooden legs, and caring a dummy horse on hip to move up and down to band music. Wearing colorful cloths hiding there legs, and wooden legs to hoof. It is unheard in the raised band music; called Naiyandi melam.



Kavadi attam is a devotional dance dedicated mostly to lord muruga. Unlike those carried on shoulders balanced by a stick and something curved like with fixed feathers on each end, what I see last evening was a stool like thing carried on head with a cone like decorated, as they roll, it revolves colorfully.

CHENNAI CULTURE:

CHENNAI is Popularly called the "Gateway to the South", Chennai culture is distinctly different from that of any other city in India. Being a cosmopolitan city, the culture of the city reflects its diverse population which has resulted in a unique blend. Though a modern city, it continues to be traditional and conventional in certain ways. Traditional music, dance and all other art forms of Tamil Nadu are very popular in the city. One can find a unique blend of culture from traditional foods to fast foods, from ancient temple architecture to modern high-rises and from classical music and dance to the growing nightlife in the city.

MUSIC:

The city is known for its classical music shows. Every December, Chennai holds a five week-long Music Season, which has been described as one of the world's largest cultural events. The Music Season encompasses performances (kutcheries) of traditional Carnatic music by hundreds of artists in and around the city. This happens during the Tamil season of Margazhi and this period is a festive and joyous time in chennai. The mercury lies in the low twenties and the music rendered by the great musicians is soul-stirring and sensational. Carnatic music makes the December season a must-experience for visitors to Chennai.




DANCE AND DRAMA:

Chennai is also known for the classical Indian dance, the Bharatanatyam, which is also the official dance of Tamil Nadu. An important cultural centre for Bharatanatyam is Kalakshetra (Sanskrit for "place of the arts"), located on the beach in the south of the city.




Chennai has a vibrant theatre scene, with a large number of Tamil plays being performed. Political satire, slapstick comedy, history, mythology and drama are some of the popular genres of Tamil plays. Prominent theatre personalities include Pammal Sambanda Mudaliar, K.S. Nagarajan, Cho Ramaswamy, Indira Parthasarathy, R.S. Manohar, N. Muthuswamy, Crazy Mohan, S. Ve. Sekhar and Y. Gee. Mahendran. English theatre is also popular in Chennai.

Kollywood:

Chennai is the base for the large Tamil movie industry, dubbed Kollywood after the locality of Kodambakkam where most of the movie studios are located. The industry makes about 300 Tamil movies a year, and its film soundtracks dominate the music scene in the city.


Art:

Chennai has played a vital role in the evolution of traditional and contemporary art in India.

Lalit Kala Akademi, at Greams Road conducts regular exhibitions of works by established and emerging artists.

The Cholamandal Artists' Village is a unique centre of art and craft where artists and sculptors work in their own studios to supplement their income from the sale of paintings or sculptures. A permanent gallery attracts visitors throughout the year.

Chennai has produced some of the finest artists in India like KCS Panicker, K.M.Adimoolam, A.V.Ilango, R.B.Bhaskaran, R.M.Palaniappan.

There are also couple of emerging artists like Aparajith, Benita Perciyal, Sivabalan, cheenu pillai, Sheela Maradi, Ramasuresh who have made a mark for themselves.

FOOD IN CHENNAI:

TRADITIONAL ITEMS:

Digs at South Indian eating habits have long since stopped being funny and many a Tamilian is known to have taken umbrage at being referred to as an idle-sambhar specimen, a rice eating sloth whose languour is attributed to his food habits. Why not poke fun (clean wholesome fun) at our channa bhature-dal-roti brothers? I still remember vividly my acute embarrassment at the dining table as a young bride. My in-laws after years of residence in the north, plainly scoffed at the eating habits of the south. Se how she loves her rice was the open remark and imagine enjoying it with dollops of sambhar and ghee to go with it! I remember blushing with shame, and valiantly trying to much chapattis to gain their approval. Fortunately I was as thin as a beanpole and my frame gave scant evidence to my partiality to rice!




Rice, of course is the staple food of the south Indian. Excepting very cosmopolitan families, its presence is felt in some form or the other in every meal. In south India, after the rice is cooked the water or conjee is drained. Packed with nourishment, the working class downs it with a pinch of salt-a real filler to stave off those premature hunger pangs. Warmed and poured over the legs, rice conjee is supposed to alleviate pain in the legs. Lightly soaked and ground to a powder rice flour has infinite uses. Steamed and mixed with sugar and a little ghee, it makes rice puttu for tiffin. A small amount added to gram flour paste, it helps make crisp bajjis or pakoras. Ground rice flour paste can be utilized to create varieties of dosas and of course with the fright proportions of ground lentils, it lends itself to the making of the standard idli and dosas after fermentation. Rice is used also for payasam, a thick sweet soup specially concocted during festivals.




non-vegetarian

The non-vegetarian Tamils have their regular vegetarian days- Saturdays, a day for Venkatesh Perumal(Balaji), Thursdays for Baba and so on. Meat is usually not prepared on kirthigai or Amavasai- certain phases of the moon. I know that even today, certain families fact during eclipse and either mop or wash the house after it is over. The pregnant woman lies still during the eclipse with the curtains drawn, for superstition holds that she begets a malformed child if she indulges in activity.



The unforgettable flavours of Chennai:

Chennai People:

Chennai is a metropolitan city in the southern region of India. Due to the fast paced development taking place in the urban area, it has become the hub of all the major activities. This has attracted a huge influx of the people to Chennai for various purposes, such as employment, business, education etc. This has given the city its cosmopolitan character, with people from different caste, community, religion and regions residing in its heart. However, the natives of Tamil Nadu are very particular about their value system and their beliefs.

People of Madras are world-famous for their hospitality and warmth. They strongly adhere to their age-old custom and tradtions. Usually the day of a Tamil household begins with early rising and performing religious rites. The doorsteps are decorated with kolam, on a daily basis. Kolam are patterns made from rice power or white stone powder, which has both decorative as well as religious significance. People are very religious and visit the temples daily, but a major chunk of the population pays a visit on Friday.


Apart from this, there are a number of other people from different cultures residing in the city. This has made Chennai an absolute blend of varied cultures and lifestyles. There is a considerable population of Sindhis, Gujaratis, Malayalees, Muslims, and Kannadigas in the city, who live in perfect harmony with each other and present an excellent example of unity in diversity. Thus, Chennai is a paradise for all those who want to experience the true spirit of the country we call India.



Chennai favourite mode of address is SIR, everywhere and everybody calls you sir, this word is so much a part of tamil culture it has now become a tamil word now. Chennai is a place where you can afford to be human, tender, humble and you wont loose anything doing that. To the contrary you may gain a friend or two being humble. People here do not respect you because you belong to a class or you look respectable, no they show respect because they enjoy giving respect and you as a human being deserve to be addressed with respect.





POPULAR PERSONS FROM CHENNAI:

Viswanathan Anand:





A. R. Rahman



M. S. Swaminathan

HOTELS:
in chennai you can able to see many kind of hotels starting from stars to fair low ones.some of the classics are,

Taj Coromandel (TajGroup)

Centrally located in the prime business and residential district with ideal access to shopping and entertainment. The hotel is about 15 kms from the airport offering 201 rooms including 22 suites.





Chola Sheraton (ITC-Welcomgroup Sheraton)

Heart-of-town location, close to the shopping and commercial centres,13 kms from the airport. Offers 100 rooms, including suites. Enjoy the comforts of the Executive Lounge & Bar the atmosphere of elegant service at the Business Centre and a state-of-the-art Health Club.



royale Meridien , Chennai

Le Royal Meridien Chennai is the perfect destination for business travellers, just 5 kms from International airport. Facilities include extensive conference and banquet rooms for up to 1000 guests.



Connemara Hotel (Taj Group)

Located downtown within walking distance of the city's shopping and commercial districts. A 20 minute drive from the airport, the Connemara Hotel is Chennai's only heritage hotel offering 148 rooms including 4 suites.

this are the some of the hotels in terms of high class.


chennai is also know for its low budget hotels which feeds many peoples.


MALLS AND MOVIE PARKS:

The Malls of Chennai

SPENCER PLAZA:
Spencer Plaza, one of the biggest shopping malls in South Asia, is located on Mount Road (officially known as Anna Salai), and is one of the landmarks of the modern Chennai, Tamil Nadu state, India.



History:
The historical roots of Spencer Plaza goes back to British Raj, when in the year 1863-1864, the first Departmental store in the Indian subcontinent (comprising India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka), established by Charles Durant and J. W. Spencer. After a few years, Eugene Oakshott shifted the department store to a new building, which was an example of Indian Indo-Saracenic style of architecture. The building was designed by W. N. Pogson. In the year 1983, the original building was destroyed in a fire. The present Spencer Plaza was constructed on the same site. This shopping mall is the major hangout for people of Chennai.

City Center Mall:
It is a different world in there.

In contrast to the dust and the heat and the traffic, the malls of Chennai offer a completely different flavor and taste of Chennai.

City Center Mall, hardly in the center of the city (it is actually close to the coastline) stands out on Radha Krishnan Salai. Although self contained with a parking facility, parking does become a hassle when the facility is full.

The building is impressive from the outside and once you get in, it is the world of 21st century commerce all through.

A fine assembly of brand names and glitzy stores. Of course. What else would a shopping mall contain?






sathyam cinemas:

The sathyam cinemas located in Chennai is the most preferred place for cine entertainment. The facilities provided here for a reasonable price is the attractive factor here. The multiplex has six screens with the real digital experience feature to enjoy the movies with high digital quality and convenient seating facility. The tickets are sold at reasonable rates all the time.





Mayajaal:

One of the first multiplexes in Chennai, Mayajaal offers a bowling alley, gaming arcade, restaurants and shopping and a theater. It is like an oasis of activity on the now busy but still very scenic East coast Road. So if you want to drive out for a movie, this is the way to do it.

Mayajaal Multiplex has contained within it six separate screens that each have a capacity of seating 150. The theaters are all pretty similar in terms of interiors and decor. The ceilings are high and white, like the walls. Flooring is a carpeted dull red acrylic matted material.

Chennai is a city where the traditional and the modern blend in life everywhere. From traditional vegetarian fair to fast foods, from nine-yard sarees to the latest in fashion, from ancient temple architecture to modern high-rise - with Indo-Saracenic and Victorian as stops along the way - from classical music and dance to discos throbbing to heady beats, Chennai has them all and many more vivid contrasts that are a pleasant surprise. And perhaps the most striking of them all is that here is a modern metropolis with beaches, parks and even sanctuaries in the heart of the City. Chennai offers a wealth of nature and a rich historic past to visitors in the ambience of a city with every modern facility.

Prime Attractions

Fort St. George:

The British East India Company under the direct supervision of Francis Day and Andrew Cogon built Fort St. George in 1640 AD. The fort houses St. Mary's Church and fort museum. St. Mary's Church is the oldest Anglican Church in India built in 1680 and the tombstones in its courtyard are the oldest British tombstones in India. This ancient prayer house solemnized the marriages of Robert Clive and Governor Elinu-Yale, who later founded the Yale University in the States. Today the fort is used by the state legislative assembly and as the secretarial offices of the Tamil Nadu government.






Kapaleeswarar Temple:
The biggest temple in the city, it is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple contains inscriptions dating back to the 13th century AD, and is a fine specimen of the Dravidian style of architecture. The 37-metre gopuram is especially noteworthy for its intricate carvings that depict stories from Hindu mythology.




Santhome Cathedral:
San Thome at the southern end of Marina derives its name from St Thomas, the apostle of Christ who is believed to have come to Madras sometime during 52 AD. He was killed on St Thomas Mount just outside the city in 78 AD and was interned in San Thome beach where a church was later built. Several years later, another church was built further inland and his mortal remains were transferred from the old church to the new one. In 1606 the church was rebuilt as a cathedral and in 1896 it was made a basilica. The beautiful stained glass window at the basilica portrays the story of St Thomas and the central hall has 14 wooden plaques depicting scenes from the last days of Christ. In the cathedral is a 3 ft high statue of Virgin Mary, which is believed to have been brought from Portugal in 1543.






The Marina Beach:

Marina Beach - ChennaiLining the east of the city is the famous Marina Beach. Supposed to be the second longest beach in the world, it is 12 km long. The beach can be ideally visited in the early mornings or in the late evenings when the area becomes a virtual fair ground with food stalls and other entertainments.




chennai central:

Madras Central was built in 1873 at Parktown as a second terminus to decongest the Royapuram harbour station which was being utilised for port movements. Built in the Gothic Revival style, the original station was designed by George Hardinge and consisted of just four platforms. The station was later modified with the addition of the central clock tower and other changes by Robert Fellowes Chisholm . The redesign was eventually completed in 1900.



Madras Central gained prominence after the beach line was extended further south in 1907 and Royapuram was no longer a terminus for Madras . All trains were then terminated at Madras Central instead and its position was further strengthened after the construction of the headquarters of the Madras and Southern Maratha Railway (erstwhile Madras Railway and now known as the Southern Railway (India)) adjacent to it in 1922.

Due to increasing passenger movement, the main building was extended with the addition of a new building on the western side with a similar architecture to the original.

Capacity at the station was further augmented after the construction of Moore Market Complex as a dedicated terminus for the Chennai suburban railway.

CHENNAI HISTORY:


Chennai, originally known as Chennapatnam, was located in the province of Tondaimandalam, an area lying between Pennar river of Nellore and the Pennar river of Cuddalore. The capital of the province was Kancheepuram. Tondaimandalam was ruled in the 2nd century A.D. by Tondaiman Ilam Tiraiyan, who was a representative of the Chola family at Kanchipuram. It is believed that Ilam Tiraiyan must have subdued the Kurumbas, the original inhabitants of the region and established his rule over Tondaimandalam. Chennai is a city which has grown by merging numerous villages which are really ancient. The temples of Thiruvanmiyur, Thiruvotriyur, Thirvallikeni (Triplicane), Thirumyilai (Mylapore) have existed for more than 1000 years. Thiruvanmiyur, Thiruvotriyur and Thirumyilai are mentioned in the Thevarams of the Moovar (of the Nayanmars).




Early European settlers:

Modern Chennai had its origins as a colonial city and its initial growth was closely tied to its importance as an artificial harbour and trading centre. When the Portuguese arrived in 1522, they built a port and named it São Tomé, after the Christian apostle St. Thomas, who is believed to have preached there between the years 52 and 70. The region then passed into the hands of the Dutch, who established themselves near Pulicat just north of the city in 1612.


Arrival of the British:

By 1612, the Dutch established themselves in Pulicat to the north. In the seventeenth century when the British East India Company decided to build a factory on the east coast they selected Armagon (Dugarazpatnam), a village around 35 miles North of Pulicat, as the site in 1626. The calico cloth from the local area, which was in high demand, was of poor quality and not suitable for export to Europe. The British soon realized that the Armagaon was not a good port and it was unsuitable for trade purposes. Francis Day, one of the officers of the company, who was then a Member of the Masulipatam Council and the Chief of the Armagon Factory, made a voyage of exploration in 1637 down the coast as far as Pondicherry with a view to choose a site for a new settlement.



Post-independence (1947):

After India became independent, the city became the administrative and legislative capital of Madras State which was renamed as Tamil Nadu in 1968.


modern chennai:

Chennai , formerly known as Madras, is the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu and is India's fourth largest city. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. With an estimated population of 7.60 million (2006), the 369-year-old city is the 36th largest metropolitan area in the world. The symbol of this city is tamarind, a tropical fruit and the great actor Rajnikant, whose ape-like gestures while acting is famous internationally.


OLD CHENNAI PHOTOS